Has the cost of ammo changed how you practice?

[Ridge Runner]

.357 mag and .38 SPL ammo are through the roof here in Maine.

Wal-Mart barely has it in stock anymore and Cabela's....don't get me started.

What are you guys doing about the cost of ammo and your revolvers and training?

Switching to another gun? Reloading? Not shooting as much?

I have not shot my 686 in months because I do not want to use up what .38 SPL and .357 MAG I have left.

Any thoughts?

 

[Ridge Runner]

.357 mag and .38 SPL ammo are through the roof here in Maine.

Wal-Mart barely has it in stock anymore and Cabela's....don't get me started.

What are you guys doing about the cost of ammo and your revolvers and training?

Switching to another gun? Reloading? Not shooting as much?

I have not shot my 686 in months because I do not want to use up what .38 SPL and .357 MAG I have left.

Any thoughts?

 

[max]

I reload most calibers and bought a bunch of 9mm before it went too crazy. I am not shooting much right now because of the weather.

I went to a 3 day shooting school back in Sept and there was only 1 guy shooting a .45. The staff said with increased ammo costs, they were seeing a lot more 9's. By the way, after the class, I picked up most of the .45 brass.

 

[Massad Ayoob]

Started last year getting ready for more ".22 time." Acquired some conversion units (SIG P226 and P220, Advantage for standard size Glock), already had Ciener units for Commander and Browning HP, and Marvel unit for full size 1911. Ditto .22 Kit Guns and K22s for revolver practice. Ditto Colt AR15 .22 conversion unit.

We're starting to get into the ammo drought period that some predicted. Take a look at the ammo shelves in the big box stores.

And, of course, reloaders are wearing well-deserved smug smiles.

 

[Wyatt Earp]

Originally posted by Massad Ayoob:
And, of course, reloaders are wearing well-deserved smug smiles.

Yes, sir.

 

[vytoland]

no shortage here..........plenty of .38 special & .357 magnum rounds

 

[ACP230]

My practice has been down lately due to bouts of bronchitis and cold weather.
I haven't changed due to ammo costs or shortages yet, but do plan to start reloading 9mm again this year. Nine mm was so cheap for so long that I gave up reloading it.

 

[bigt5150]

I was lucky enough to be paranoid enough to think that this would happen so I was able to stock up early. If I recall correctly I bought WWB 9mm for $4.99 a box about 2 years ago. I pretty cleaned out the stores supply. 5k rounds if I remember correctly. I have about 3k left. I still practice but only about half as much.

 

[flop-shank]

I reload. We all should learn. Teaching a kid to reload will insure the future of the shooting sports as much as teaching a kid to shoot. This year I intend to start casting bullets.

 

[greengael]

Somewhat off topic, does anyone have an opinion on Wison reloads for practice?

 

[SuperMan]

Like Flop said...everyone should learn to reload...

Three years ago the wholesale cost of a box of .38 Super Winchester White Box ammo was $10.00...today it is $23.00.

Three years ago it cost me $3.00 to reload a box of .38 Super with 100 grain Berry's plated bullets...today it costs $4.50....

...your savings may vary...

To the original question...no I can still shoot what I shot to the same amount I always have...

Bob Makowski

 

[JamesArthur60]

Good question. In my case, I do not shoot my 686 nor my 1894C rifle due to the cost of .38 ammo. In fact, I'm finding that I shoot less overall, and when I do, I'm going with my .22. I'm trying to prepare myself for the upcoming anti-gun "BS" from the new administration in DC. Shooting just doesn't seem to be as much fun, plus I'm afraid my IDPA match shooting may be out of sight in the future.

 

[josp]

I shoot better and try not to miss as much

Seriously though, I shoot 22 most often, followed by 45 or 38. Still enough to feel proficient, but not as much as I should.

 

[44forever]

I have enough ammo stockpiled for...awhile. I shoot very little factory ammo even under normal circumstances, it's almost all my reloads.

I am shooting less centerfire rifle and more rimfire. The skills seem to transfer well.

 

[Evil One]

Ammo costs encouraged me to reload...
No idea while I waited so long...


Jim

 

[Wyatt Earp]

Originally posted by 44forever:
I am shooting less centerfire rifle and more rimfire. The skills seem to transfer well.

I completely got out of NRA Across The Course Highpower and significantly cut back on my NRA Mid Range and Long Range Prone and got more involved in NRA Smallbore Prone for the same reasons. Smallbore saves time in addition to money, since I don't have to spend hours cleaning bores and reloading match CF cartridges.

 

[MTKTM]

I notice that there's no particular shortage of most common forms of ammo around here. Decent low-end 38 Special which used to cost about $10 per box is now $15. That's a pretty sizeable mark-up in a short amount of time.....less than a year. But I also was surprised when looking through my storage area and found some factory ammo that I'd bought in the mid-80s. Some 38 stuff bought back then was $11 and I found some 9x19 Blazer stuff with a $9 price-tag on it! The basic inflation rate since the mid-80s is about 2-2.5X, so if you look at it that way, ammo right now is pretty darned cheap.

 

[kennyb]

i too just had to reload....i purchased a box of 500 mag.for $32.00 (20 rounds) went back a couple weeks later and it was over $50.00...thats outrageous and simply sealed the deal for me...i HAD to reload!i just love it and its easy!i now reload 38/357,41 mag.,44 mag.,.223,45acp,500mag.and 45colt....i have discovered a new hobby that saves me money and its something i share with my son....a friend of mine loves my 44mag.reloads...just yesterday i traded him a box of 44 special factory and 100 rounds of my 44mag.reloads...he gave me 1000 rounds of eagle 9mm factory!a good deal i would say plus he is returning my brass LOL...like others i encourage you to reload...i thought it would be a complicated mess...and it wasn't...just use care and pay attention to detail...hope this helps...i certainly cannot afford to shoot all factory these days

 

[il Padrino]

I have done 2 things:
1)started reloading a lot more,
2)and also take .22 revolver along with the center fire whenever I go to the range, and I tend to shoot more of the .22 than the centerfire than I used to.

 

[Dusty Miller]

If I didn't reload, I couldn't shoot.